Subject:
|
Re: I can't hear you ........
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.org.us.nelug
|
Date:
|
Thu, 26 Jul 2001 16:09:51 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
847 times
|
| |
|
|
In lugnet.org.us.nelug, James Howse writes:
> > Any *one* of those three would have been enough to wipe
> > out all other forces on the board, given enough turns to get within range of
> > them ... in actuality, even Gandalf should have to run from a horde of Orcs, • I
> > say.
>
> My first reaction was to say "No he wouldn't!". Then I thought for a bit...
> the name Moria sprang to mind. Sure enough, running from a horde there. But
> only for the safety of the group and the ring. Just before the exit, he
> turns and stands down a Balrog. And a Balrog would be a perfect example of
> an ultra-powerful character that could wipe all other forces off the board,
> given enough turns to get within range of them.
I agree in part ... but didn't Gandalf become tired as he cast spells, or as
the spells became more powerful? And certainly some of them required various
amounts of time to cast, as he had to speak incantations. I agree that part of
his fleeing was for the protection of the group (though he would also have
loved to skip out of there without facing the balrog, IRCC). However, I guess
my feeling from the books (and I'm planning on reading them again soon, it's
been a good two years, at least :) was that magic users were extremely
powerful, but not the god-like beings they can become in various RPGs, etc.
Brikwars currently doesn't have account for any limitations such as these - the
"magical power" is refreshed each turn, and each spell is instantaneous.
Though one could also argue that the difference in what I'm spouting here is
the distance between ranged and close combat. If the wizard can pick the enemy
off from a distance, then I suppose they *might* be considered nearly
invincible. But when troops are all around, they are in the deep mud just as
deeply as their counterparts. I guess our concern with reagrds to the game
was that, in the context of a non-roleplaying scenario, there was no feasible
way to ever get troops in close proximity to the magic users, making them, for
all intents and purposes, invincible to any but other powerful magic users.
> Other than that episode, Gandalf doesn't actually seem to do much, he's got
> the "hidden majesty" gig down pat.
Well, I always liked his "illuminate elven script" trick at the gates of Moria.
And then, in the final battle, he's perched atop the mountain tossing fireballs
around like Mardi Gras beads.
Mmmm, she-orcs at Mardi Gras, yum :P
> Don't get me wrong here, I like realism, but somehow it goes astray when
> messing with 2inch high fat-bodied figs wearing permanent grins. Perhaps
> I've got the wrong end of the Brickwars schtick or maybe realism is your
> thing, fair enough. Super powered characters aren't a bad thing though, as
> long as (as Shaun pointed out) there are limits. The fun is in deciding
> where those limits are.
I don't know exactly where we stand on this - I think it changes depending on
the game. When Eric and I played WWII brikwars, we tried to make it pretty
realistic - no stupendous feats, entertaining but not necessarily silly
actions, etc. In most of our other games, the stupendous feats are typically
limited to actions a movie-hero might pull off ... an unlikely jump, moving
particularly fast or far, getting lots of shots off, some incredible manuever
in which they roll with the explosion and don't die, things like that. Tree
uprooting, mountain burrowing, goat birthing, and planet launching have yet to
make it into the arena. Which isn't to say it never will ... my point being,
our tendency thus far has been to have all characters be mortal. We've had
lots of Heroes die, and even Champions have suffered unhappy endings (*sniff*).
So, at least initially, having practically invulnerable characters didn't sit
well with us.
Of course, this in no way implies a "correctness" to any of what I just said,
and there is certainly a great deal of latitude in Brikwars for personal
silliness levels! I'd love to play a game sometime in which the silliness was
really limited only by imagination, could make for an entertaining showdown!
Soooo ... who is gonna organize this one?
-s
|
|
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: I can't hear you ........
|
| (...) My first reaction was to say "No he wouldn't!". Then I thought for a bit... the name Moria sprang to mind. Sure enough, running from a horde there. But only for the safety of the group and the ring. Just before the exit, he turns and stands (...) (23 years ago, 26-Jul-01, to lugnet.org.us.nelug)
|
17 Messages in This Thread:
 
 
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
